Charles Manson Superstar Movie Review

Checking out this 1989 documentary on Charles Manson, the highlight of which is an extensive interview with the man himself, the 2002 viewer is immediately struck with the similarities between Manson's voice and that of President George W. Bush.

Their respective rhetorics are equally baffling.

While this movie won't help you understand the inner workings of Manson's mind (they can't be understood), but it's a wild road nonetheless. Nikolas Schreck narrates the proceedings with deadpan perfection (which is to say, many of the words are mispronounced, much like Charlie would do), revisiting the Manson family's various old haunts in the deserts and forests of California, and outlining the general history of his cult. (This said, Schreck is obviously a big fan of Manson, and the bias of his monologues show.)

While the exposition (straightforward craziness leading up to the Sharon Tate murders in 1969) is straightforward, Manson's dialogue is anything but. Consider:

Manson's opinion on his followers: "There's a buncha broads followin' me around."

More on his followers and on his blame for their handiwork: "My friends have always been killing people!... You gotta be responsible for your own actions."

Manson on religion: "The cross came by and passed by my window and I seen it go by and I thought, 'Ahhhh, Christ is a little guy.'"

On communication: "I don't need a telephone to talk to that bushman! Bushman is right inside my soul!"

Manson's opinion on, um, something: "You can't fake on me, cuz I'm a child of the '40s!"

He's absolutely nuts, but nonetheless fascinating. The mind of the maniacal thought-leader of a group of obsessed nuts (note that he has never been convicted of actually murdering anyone himself) has never before or since been so aptly autopsied. It probably never will again.

In watching this documentary, my wife immediately commented, "He's totally crazy!"

No shit.